Fadhlina dismisses Maszlee’s call for top officials to quit over flag gaffe

FMT:

Fadhlina dismisses Maszlee’s call for top officials to quit over flag gaffe


Pan Eu Joe

The education minister tells her PKR colleague to allow an internal probe to be held first, reiterating that her ministry takes the issue seriously

Education minister Fadhlina Sidek urged former MP Maszlee Malik to give her ministry room to probe the flag blunder.

PUTRAJAYA: Education minister Fadhlina Sidek has dismissed former MP Maszlee Malik’s call for top ministry officials to resign over the Jalur Gemilang gaffe in its Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) results analysis report.

Fadhlina said Maszlee, a former education minister, should allow the ministry to complete its internal investigation into the issue first.

“The investigation is still ongoing, so please give us space to carry it out. I have said this many times. We are firm on this issue and we will not let it go just like that.


“The Jalur Gemilang issue is no joke and we are committed to carrying out this investigation with full integrity,” she told reporters at a press conference here today.

Maszlee, a PKR leader, had called for the resignations of several top education ministry officials over the blunder, including the ministry’s director-general and the director of the examination board.


The report contained an image of students in a classroom, with a Jalur Gemilang with two stars instead of one hanging on the wall. The flag had eight alternating red and white stripes instead of 14.

The gaffe came a week after several Jalur Gemilang snafus, involving Sin Chew Daily, Kwong Wah Yit Poh and a Singapore-based baby food vendor that opened a booth at a Kuala Lumpur trade show.

The education ministry had apologised for the mistake and said “stern and immediate action” was taken against those involved in the matter.

Separately, Fadhlina said 96 students who were staying at an SMK Tinggi Setapak dormitory which was razed by a fire last night would be temporarily relocated to another location.


She said the students would resume their studies online in the meantime and necessary supplies had been distributed to them.

The fire, which broke out at 8.43pm yesterday, involved a dormitory block housing male students, all of whom were at the school’s surau when the blaze occurred.

The fire and rescue department said the blaze destroyed 80% of the first floor of the dormitory.